Cue that theme music...

It's live from Hollywood!

This week our 8 remaining pairs dance to TV theme music.  Hmmmm...

The first 30 minutes is a judges' summary of what it's going to take for each celebrity to have a chance to win the competition, along with a recap of the dances the judges feel were the best so far for each pair.


For the performances, I hope that the producers have matched each couple with music and a dance style that make sense.  We shall see.

Brandy and Maks dance Quickstep to the theme from Friends.  The opening of the dance had great energy.  It set the tone for a fun dance, and then they followed through.  They danced all over the stage.  It bothered me a little bit because there seemed to be a bit more running than dancing in parts.  But the dancing they did was so fast.  And I was impressed by how she was able to maintain the controlled and poised upper body, while her legs and feet were moving wildly through some pretty intense footwork.  And she never missed a step.  Plus, she hung right with the tempo and kept up without Maks having to drag her through it.  As for performance, she nailed it.  Judges say 9's across for a total of 27.  That's well deserved.  The judges may have said that her Rumba last week was her best dance, but I think this Quickstep just surpassed that.

Florence and Corky dance Tango to the theme from The Brady Bunch.  I'm not sure how you Tango to this song.  The band has emphasized the beat to make it seem like Tango music.  It's actually working in terms of the steps, but Tango is supposed to be dramatic.  It started out well, but then it became kind of silly.  It's like last week's Rumba, almost a parody of what the proper dance should be.  The performance was very entertaining and she looked like she had a great time dancing it.  But it just didn't feel like a proper Tango to me.  I think Corky did a good job designing the dance around music that didn't really match the style, and Florence danced very well in parts.  But then the movements got kind of frantic and jerky.  The end of the dance just felt foolish to me.  Judges say 7's across for a total of 21.  I think she earned that score because she did get through the steps.

Kurt and Anna dance Quickstep to the theme from Bewitched.  I think this is another strong match of music with dance style.  The opening was clever, as she twitched her nose as if to wake up the dancer in Kurt.  His posture looks pretty good this week, and he is definitely leading her through the dance.  He looks very elegant.  This was fun and light choreography, and I really enjoyed the performance.  It had a charm about it.  He managed to make the dance float in places.  And he paid attention to so many little details that lets us overlook some of the heaviness in his legs at times.  That helped to enhanced the performance and make it really wonderful.  Judges say 8's across for a total of 24.  Yup!  The quality of the performance overshadowed a few of the technical issues.  

Audrina and Tony dance Rumba to the theme from The Hills.  I'm not familiar with the program or the song, so we'll see how this goes.  She looks amazing.  And I guess the dancing looked fine to the judges and the studio audience.  The music matched really well with the dance style.  But I didn't really feel the romantic connection between the two of them that I expect from a Rumba.  And I thought that her hips were actually twisting rather than rolling through the movement, and that took the sensuality out of the dance for me.  The performance ended up feeling flat and bland to me.  Maybe I just really wanted it to be great.  I'll have to watch it back and see if what I saw matched what the dance was.  Judges say 7,8,8 for a total of 23.  Carrie Ann took a point off for a lift she said she saw.  I didn't see a lift, but it's possible that I missed it.  I wonder if I might be overly critical of Audrina.

Kyle and Lacey dance Foxtrot to the theme from Charlie's Angels.  The music and dance style didn't match very well.  Lacey threw in a few disco moves, but that didn't really change the fact that it just wasn't Foxtrot music.  This is unfortunate.  Lacey was constrained by the music and the style, and she did the best she could with it.  I liked what she tried to do.  However, it really didn't have enough Foxtrot in it.  I have to agree with Len and Bruno that the dance just wasn't very good.  On the runs in hold, rather than gracefully floating across the floor, they bounced.  And the way I learned it, there's no bouncing in Foxtrot.  I like Kyle's enthusiasm and I enjoy Lacey's youthful choreography, but this dance just didn't work for me.  It felt too silly, and silly is not a good description of a Foxtrot.  Judges say 8,5,7 for a total of 20.  I would have gone 6's across.

Rick and Cheryl dance Rumba to the theme from Hill Street Blues.  That is one of my all time favorite shows, and one of my all time favorite pieces of TV music.  The music has a drama all it's own.  I thought Rick dance well.  He maintained a strong and confident posture.  He moved Cheryl through the dance.  It was relaxed, and this time he managed a gentleness in his movement.  There was nothing robotic in his dancing this week.  He was smooth, and there was an elegance to the choreography that I appreciated.  I did miss some of the sensual connection between the two of them.  But I thought the performance was very good, much better than last week.  Judges say 8's across for a total of 24.  Nice!

Bristol and Mark dance Jive to the theme from the Monkeys.  There is no hiding in a Jive.  It needs energy, personality, and performance.  They started the dance in monkey suits.  Well, I guess she tried.  She took a step forward in her performance, but that was while she was in the monkey suit.  When she took the suit off, the dance fell apart on her.  She forgot some steps.  Her musicality suffered.  Outside of the monkey suit, she just couldn't pull a performance together.  And in the interview after the dance she said she didn't like the Jive.  Maybe so, but you can't let that show in the performance.  That comes from not having any experience as an entertainer.  Judges say 6's across for a total of 18.  Well, at least they can't call her a "teen activist" anymore.  It's her 20th birthday.  Happy Birthday!

Jennifer and Derek dance Foxtrot to the theme from Love and Marriage.  Dammit.  I hate the drama in the rehearsal.  But at least she walks away from it, takes a break, lets it go, and comes back ready to work.  I love the characterization of this dance.  It was light and classy.  I thought I saw a couple of mis-steps, but they were covered very well.  The judges picked on the dance.  I expected that, since she had such an amazing Tango last week.  It did seem like Derek took a week off in terms of difficult and intense choreography.  They took extra time at the top to get into the dancing, and more time at the end to dismount from the routine.  Since they have two dances next week, that makes sense.  I liked the theatricality of the dance, and the story they told with it. I enjoyed the performance.  Judges say 8,8,9 for a total of 25.  Even though the judges were critical, that's a pretty solid score.

Here's our leader board:

27 Brandy and Maks 
25 Jennifer and Derek
24 Kurt and Anna
24 Rick and Cheryl
23 Audrina and Tony
21 Florence and Corky
20 Kyle and Lacey
18 Bristol and Mark


I think this week we're really going to see who has the fanbase.  Are the Brady fans there for Florence?  Are the Disney kids there for Kyle?  Where are the votes coming from for Bristol?


We stuck with Rick and Jennifer again this week.  I think we might just be locked in, as long as both of them keep making it through.  We like what Brandy, Kurt, Kyle, and Audrina are doing, but we're not compelled to change our votes yet.


You know the drill...tune in tonight for results, and check back tomorrow for my encores.


Later gang!

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November 4, 2010